in his life is also charged in the death of a woman. >> pluspopebenedictxviretires this week on thursday. this morning tenfs thousands of catholic faithful turned out for his final sunday blessing. and as he prepares to leave, there's one more scandal overshadowing the vatican. i'll kira klapper live in san francisco. i'll have what they >> in one of his last acts as pontiff, pope benedict xvi gave his final blessing from the vatican this morning. his retirement is stirring up rumors and the church is fighting back. kira klapper is live at st. mary's cathedral in san francisco. kira. >> katie, they are here and many haven't heard the reports overnight the pope is resigning so quickly to avoid any fallout from the scandal of sexual abuse. he said s resigning because of advancing age and says he will still serve the church with the same dedication but he said he will do so at a way more suitable to his age. they gathered in saint peter's square for closeness and affection. [foreign language of] >> meanwhile in los angeles yesterday cardinal roger mahoney testified under oath ab

benedictandthe tens of thousands who gathered this morning at st. peter's square. it's one of the last before he steps down. the vatican says the meeting of senior church officials to select a new pope, a process known as conclave, may begin sooner than expected. church rules says a conclave must begin 15-20 days after the seat becomes vacant but there is no need to mourn because pope benedict decided to resign. speeding up the process could give the church a new pope in time for holly week the week before easter. >> this morning there are new concerns and new questions in the south bay as the president of the santa clara county's board of supervisors already under fire is accused of even moregreej ousz acts. -- egregious acts. >> supervisor is already accused of misusing a county used credit card. they suggest that he frequented casinos and may have accumulated gambling debts. they filed for bankrupt in 2011 and owed to the irs $195,000. he also failed to report campaign contributions and last month, his fellow supervisors ordered he would pay more than $29,000 in unauthorized charita